Bacchus and city college students - centering prior knowledge - work together as they move with time and technology to tell multimedia stories as they read, write and share projects, interview community, collect and tell stories, and use dialogue to gain understandings of "marginalization."
dreamchange103.blogspot.com
bacchus@sbcc.edu

I
do believe that we are living in the time machine of the science
fiction imagination. We are at a porthole in the fabric of time. As we
live the present, we fly into the future and before we are fully
conscious, it has become the past. We can almost feel the whoosh of it
as the breeze zips pass our ears.

At one time the
"older" generation had time to adjust or adapt in some way. Now, I reach
down and touch my watch and realize that I am in the minority in my
classroom. No one wears a watch! They do not even think of a pay phone, a
record album, or a photograph negative. And, I am only 53. I am already
a relic.

As an academic I view this project through the lens ofpost modernism, race and gender theories, critical theory, andintersectionality.
This postmodern tool, the computer/internet, allows me to use my
material in more than one way at the same time. I can tell more than one
story at the same time using the same material or/and use the same
material to tell the story from different points-of-view; and the story
can be watched on two screens on the same computer.

For me it is crucial to include the personal woman.
I believe that my identities and my experiences are the foundation of
my choice of career and my pedagogy. It is why I am committed to
particular theories. Myidentity
as a woman and those experiences related to gender inform my choices.
Experiences related to race have shaped me along with others. Therefore,
my understanding of intersectionality, and its discriminations
is permeated with the trauma of my own collisions at these crossroads. I
am, after all, a black woman born in Guyana, living the experience of
an immigrant, working in a predominantly white community, an
introvert, and now a stroke survivor. I deal with issues of class,
race, gender, age and now, as a survivor of a stroke, I have a keener
understanding of the disabled. I speak with these many experiences and
from many borders.

The
above FB photo and message just arrived a few weeks ago from a former
student. For me, it is a reminder that some things stay with students.
I started the FB page as a space for students to contribute information
they felt extended our critical thinking. Over the last few years,
I've continued with the notion that change is happening rapidly and I
can't afford to pause to fully digest all. It was, and continues to
be, a loose experiment, but I believe that participant observation has
to be open and flexible.
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"Design a program that answers one of your academic needs." said the professor. Denmark Vesey popped
up immediately. In the 1830s in South Carolina Denmark lost his life
in the fight for freedom. He came to mind immediately when the
professor sat us down and directed us to each create a computer program
that would enhance our particular academic focus. Computers filled the
room. I was no expert, but I learned that the computer had this
multilevel potential. Almost, immediately I realized that I could
create a program that catered to various ages, various abilities,
various talents as well as various subject matter. For example, links
could be added allowing a student to explore to geography of a country.

During
my 6th grade sojourn as a facilitator/teacher, I had also been asked by
a 6th grader why he'd never heard of Denmark Vesey. The class had a
discussion and the students understood the fluidity of the "truth."
They were, after all, living in a depressed neighborhood and had found
it necessary to protest the unhealthy state of their cafeteria.

I
was able to put the two experiences together. The internet allowed me
to create a multidimensional piece. I created a story of Denmark to be
read heard and represented in art; included were a few links to various
subjects; for example there were links to maps so that the students
could explore geography.

Here at SBCC, my attempt to center student voices started with Moodle.
In the computer lab we used the Moodle space to discuss the novel. In
the classroom students used the talk show framework to present
information; they wrote and performed plays based on their novels; we
even had Sula parties; the designed questions based on the book,
came in character, cooked food according to time and place; and
participated in conversations based on the novel.

I
also guided hands on projects in the classroom and before I knew it
those projects could be published on the internet. As the technology
exploded, I asked the students to send me to a place that they visited
on the internet so that I might get ideas for teaching and they sent me
to MySpace and FaceBook. It seemed to me at the time that the
technology had just startedbecome a large part of society. I used the
information gathered from these sites to start a web-blog with the support of David Wong at Santa Barbara City College. David wedded my idea to the computer software.

Slowly
but surely I started to find my way. I read and turned the stories to
audio; I read and created the fictionalized oral history. As I worked
on it I strove to keep in mind that my ideas must always be student
centered. I kept looking for ways to make the students prior knowledge
reflect itself in the classroom. Out of that exploration came timelines for the novel, PowerPoint presentations, hands on projects and blogs to bring marginalized communities to the center, extensions
to the novel. I used their interests to stimulate some engagement; we
discussed the novel and connected it with social issues, and then I gave
them the space to define who they saw as marginalized.

The multimedia - video and visual arts - project being introduced on this site is all a part of the main purpose - the telling of life's stories. They can all be found in their various forms through the webblog.

Imagine
then that this center stage is populated with students and the voices
they choose to honor. Picture it as a rich and lively intersection of
many crossroads where people meet and grow as they go.

Therefore,
the webblog's main purpose is for students and teachers across borders
to collect these stories and upload them to this center stage. AND,
this staging should also engage the participants in an interactive
manner; it should encourage them to read these many stories and respond
to them with guidance and with honor.

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Now
we go to the project. The projects represents the weaving of my
interest in telling stories with my role as mentor and guide for my
students. It is a model for what they will do as they create their own
multimedia essays:

EXAMPLES:THE 21st CENTURYBOOK- Faces and Voices of the African Diaspora: